3: Blue Brains and a Bottlecap
"I need Flutterbutter Bars or something," Hermione told the man at Honeydukes.
He chuckled and leaned his elbow on the counter, pretending to think.
"She means Dr. Coconutters Blue Brains," Harry intoned.
"That I can do," he smiled, and pointed. "Just there, by his Silver Sinuses and Teal Toes."
"Thanks."
Together, they made their way to the shelf indicated and Harry leaned against it, glancing around the shop. She surveyed the inventory quickly.
"What's the rush, Hermione?"
"I'm the child of dentists. Sweets are dangerous ground."
"You're not running to get back to the castle for anything?"
"What would I do that for?"
"Ron is sick in bed while you're perusing coconut flavored body parts in his favorite sweetshop."
She ignored the implication, asking, "What is appealing about all this?" with a grimace at the names.
"Ron likes coconut I guess."
"Is it all the same flavor then?"
"Not exactly. They're kind of fruity."
Shrugging, she gathered several boxes of brains into her arms. Harry watched her with an smirk as she grabbed a few more after a moment of thought.
"What?"
"I thought we were getting one and getting out?"
"Maybe I thought I'd try one."
"Or a hundred?"
She scowled at him and put a few back.
"You know Ron and his sweets. He likes a lot."
Harry nodded, his expression showing that he really wasn't convinced. The girl walked to the counter and he laughed, pushing away from the shelf and following her. A child passed between them sucking what appeared to be his thumb. However, upon removing his hand from his lips, he saw that it was a thumb-shaped lollypop that fit over his actual digit.
"… and it was just there, so I picked it up," a girl somewhere behind him said.
He knew that voice.
"She actually took it off?" a second voice questioned in unbelief.
"Well …"
Giggling erupted and Harry turned on his heel, catching a glimpse of long jet-black hair through the bustle of students in the store.
"Excuse me," he mumbled, pushing past a few people until he could see three laughing seventh years. "Cho."
She looked at him when he said her name, her smile becoming shy.
"Hi, Harry."
His gaze went to from her face to her hand.
"A butterbeer cap on a chain?" he asked, furrowing his brow.
This caused the giggling to begin again and he cleared his throat, forcing a smile.
"That's Luna's, right?"
Cho stopped laughing long enough to nod and twirl the chain on her finger.
Choosing his words carefully, he inquired, "Did she give it you?"
"Yeah, Cho? Did she give it you?" her friend asked, face red with mirth.
"Well …"
When they began to squeal with delight yet again, Harry scratched the back of his head, turning his face to the floor.
"She was just about to tell us how she got it, actually," the third girl told him.
"Go on then," he prodded, meeting her eyes. "How did you get it?"
"Come on, Harry," Hermione said, finding him. "We should get this back to Ro – Oh, hi, Cho."
Cho's laughter died and she and her two friends glared at the girl at Harry's side.
"Hermione," she returned coldly.
Scoffing, the Gryffindor repeated as she turned away, "Come on, Harry."
"No, wait," he stopped her, grabbing her arm. "I want to hear how she got Luna's necklace."
Frowning, Hermione saw the chain in the other girl's hand and cocked her head to the side. Harry nudged her, flashing her a smile that didn't reach his eyes and she chuckled uncertainly.
Cho smirked and let the bottle cap dangle from her fingers.
"With all the time you spend with Loony Lovegood, you know as well as I do that she never takes this off."
They waited, eyebrows raised and Cho suddenly seemed skeptical. Pocketing the item, she gave Harry a small smile.
"Good seeing you, Harry. Bye," she said, turning and walking away, her friends in tow.
"Wait," he called, going after her. She looked at him inquisitively and he gave her an expectant stare. Continuing the silent exchange, Cho gave a pointed glance in Hermione's direction. When Harry turned to his friend he saw her looking at her own bag, to which she had affixed her prefect's badge. Looking back to the trio, he found that they had left the store.
"What was that about?" Hermione demanded, stepping to him. "Why didn't you take it from her?"
"I wanted to hear how she got it first," he explained. "Come on," he said, taking her hand and pulling her out onto the street. He craned his neck, looking over the heads of students, trying to see her in the crowd. "There."
He caught site of the three girls huddled together as they walked. Hermione followed his focus and, consequently began tugging him along until they were mere feet behind them.
"… hooked my finger in the chain and when she fell, it snapped off," Cho was saying. With a shrug, she added, "Oops."
They fell into fits of laughter and Cho held the necklace up.
"Why would anyone want to wear this rubbish? It's so silly," one of the girls asked, snatching it away.
"How is that she just happened to fall when you had your finger in the chain?" the other girl queried, her laughter slowing, but her eyes still alight with mirth.
"Well …" Cho sighed, eyes upward.
Harry stopped where he was and opened his mouth to say,
"You pushed her?!"
But he didn't say it, for Hermione had marched forward and spun Cho around roughly, yelling the entire way, saying it for him . The three Ravenclaws backed up unsteadily, seemingly frightened of the enraged Gryffindor.
However, Cho soon regained her composure and stood her ground.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she hissed, hands on her hips.
"That's why Ginny took her to Madame Pomfrey," Hermione continued raving, not really aware of what she was saying.
"She said she'd tripped," Harry whispered to himself, remembering Ginny and Luna arriving late to the library the evening before. Enraged at the cruelty he was used to only from Slytherins, he stepped forward.
Cho's friends moved away quickly, the one dropping the necklace.
"What did she ever do to you?" Hermione wanted to know.
"What does she care anyway? She's a nutter."
"She's your housemate," he spat. "Your house is like your family."
"Luna Lovegood is no family of mine," Cho told him, icily.
"I would have expected more from any house other than Slytherin."
"I don't know what kind of spell she has on you, Harry, but she's a loon. It doesn't matter what house she's in. There's nothing but madness going on inside her head. If it's not in the nonsense publication her father prints, it doesn't exist in her world."
Harry inhaled slowly. The last time he remembered being this angry during a direct verbal conflict, the source of his incitement had swelled up like a balloon and floated high above Surrey.
"Luna would fight beside you. We're in this together. The DA is nothing if divided."
Cho laughed shrilly, "Fight beside me? Maybe if I were a blibbering humdinger!"
He clenched his fists, recollecting the events of the past June in the Department of Mysteries, and he hissed, "You don't know what you're talking about."
Cho shied away.
"Harry," Hermione placed a hand on his arm that he didn't realize he'd raised. "You'll be expelled."
He met her eyes and his hands fell to his side and he sighed heavily.
After a brief moment, she muttered, "But I won't."
And with that, Cho stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, the sting of Hermione's palm fresh on her face. Surprisingly, only a few people stopped to pay attention to the altercation.
"Let's go, Harry," his friend said, turning and starting off.
Pulling his wand from his pocket, he breathed, "Accio necklace," and the butterbeer cap and chain drifted into his hand.
"I need Flutterbutter Bars or something," Hermione told the man at Honeydukes.
He chuckled and leaned his elbow on the counter, pretending to think.
"She means Dr. Coconutters Blue Brains," Harry intoned.
"That I can do," he smiled, and pointed. "Just there, by his Silver Sinuses and Teal Toes."
"Thanks."
Together, they made their way to the shelf indicated and Harry leaned against it, glancing around the shop. She surveyed the inventory quickly.
"What's the rush, Hermione?"
"I'm the child of dentists. Sweets are dangerous ground."
"You're not running to get back to the castle for anything?"
"What would I do that for?"
"Ron is sick in bed while you're perusing coconut flavored body parts in his favorite sweetshop."
She ignored the implication, asking, "What is appealing about all this?" with a grimace at the names.
"Ron likes coconut I guess."
"Is it all the same flavor then?"
"Not exactly. They're kind of fruity."
Shrugging, she gathered several boxes of brains into her arms. Harry watched her with an smirk as she grabbed a few more after a moment of thought.
"What?"
"I thought we were getting one and getting out?"
"Maybe I thought I'd try one."
"Or a hundred?"
She scowled at him and put a few back.
"You know Ron and his sweets. He likes a lot."
Harry nodded, his expression showing that he really wasn't convinced. The girl walked to the counter and he laughed, pushing away from the shelf and following her. A child passed between them sucking what appeared to be his thumb. However, upon removing his hand from his lips, he saw that it was a thumb-shaped lollypop that fit over his actual digit.
"… and it was just there, so I picked it up," a girl somewhere behind him said.
He knew that voice.
"She actually took it off?" a second voice questioned in unbelief.
"Well …"
Giggling erupted and Harry turned on his heel, catching a glimpse of long jet-black hair through the bustle of students in the store.
"Excuse me," he mumbled, pushing past a few people until he could see three laughing seventh years. "Cho."
She looked at him when he said her name, her smile becoming shy.
"Hi, Harry."
His gaze went to from her face to her hand.
"A butterbeer cap on a chain?" he asked, furrowing his brow.
This caused the giggling to begin again and he cleared his throat, forcing a smile.
"That's Luna's, right?"
Cho stopped laughing long enough to nod and twirl the chain on her finger.
Choosing his words carefully, he inquired, "Did she give it you?"
"Yeah, Cho? Did she give it you?" her friend asked, face red with mirth.
"Well …"
When they began to squeal with delight yet again, Harry scratched the back of his head, turning his face to the floor.
"She was just about to tell us how she got it, actually," the third girl told him.
"Go on then," he prodded, meeting her eyes. "How did you get it?"
"Come on, Harry," Hermione said, finding him. "We should get this back to Ro – Oh, hi, Cho."
Cho's laughter died and she and her two friends glared at the girl at Harry's side.
"Hermione," she returned coldly.
Scoffing, the Gryffindor repeated as she turned away, "Come on, Harry."
"No, wait," he stopped her, grabbing her arm. "I want to hear how she got Luna's necklace."
Frowning, Hermione saw the chain in the other girl's hand and cocked her head to the side. Harry nudged her, flashing her a smile that didn't reach his eyes and she chuckled uncertainly.
Cho smirked and let the bottle cap dangle from her fingers.
"With all the time you spend with Loony Lovegood, you know as well as I do that she never takes this off."
They waited, eyebrows raised and Cho suddenly seemed skeptical. Pocketing the item, she gave Harry a small smile.
"Good seeing you, Harry. Bye," she said, turning and walking away, her friends in tow.
"Wait," he called, going after her. She looked at him inquisitively and he gave her an expectant stare. Continuing the silent exchange, Cho gave a pointed glance in Hermione's direction. When Harry turned to his friend he saw her looking at her own bag, to which she had affixed her prefect's badge. Looking back to the trio, he found that they had left the store.
"What was that about?" Hermione demanded, stepping to him. "Why didn't you take it from her?"
"I wanted to hear how she got it first," he explained. "Come on," he said, taking her hand and pulling her out onto the street. He craned his neck, looking over the heads of students, trying to see her in the crowd. "There."
He caught site of the three girls huddled together as they walked. Hermione followed his focus and, consequently began tugging him along until they were mere feet behind them.
"… hooked my finger in the chain and when she fell, it snapped off," Cho was saying. With a shrug, she added, "Oops."
They fell into fits of laughter and Cho held the necklace up.
"Why would anyone want to wear this rubbish? It's so silly," one of the girls asked, snatching it away.
"How is that she just happened to fall when you had your finger in the chain?" the other girl queried, her laughter slowing, but her eyes still alight with mirth.
"Well …" Cho sighed, eyes upward.
Harry stopped where he was and opened his mouth to say,
"You pushed her?!"
But he didn't say it, for Hermione had marched forward and spun Cho around roughly, yelling the entire way, saying it for him . The three Ravenclaws backed up unsteadily, seemingly frightened of the enraged Gryffindor.
However, Cho soon regained her composure and stood her ground.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she hissed, hands on her hips.
"That's why Ginny took her to Madame Pomfrey," Hermione continued raving, not really aware of what she was saying.
"She said she'd tripped," Harry whispered to himself, remembering Ginny and Luna arriving late to the library the evening before. Enraged at the cruelty he was used to only from Slytherins, he stepped forward.
Cho's friends moved away quickly, the one dropping the necklace.
"What did she ever do to you?" Hermione wanted to know.
"What does she care anyway? She's a nutter."
"She's your housemate," he spat. "Your house is like your family."
"Luna Lovegood is no family of mine," Cho told him, icily.
"I would have expected more from any house other than Slytherin."
"I don't know what kind of spell she has on you, Harry, but she's a loon. It doesn't matter what house she's in. There's nothing but madness going on inside her head. If it's not in the nonsense publication her father prints, it doesn't exist in her world."
Harry inhaled slowly. The last time he remembered being this angry during a direct verbal conflict, the source of his incitement had swelled up like a balloon and floated high above Surrey.
"Luna would fight beside you. We're in this together. The DA is nothing if divided."
Cho laughed shrilly, "Fight beside me? Maybe if I were a blibbering humdinger!"
He clenched his fists, recollecting the events of the past June in the Department of Mysteries, and he hissed, "You don't know what you're talking about."
Cho shied away.
"Harry," Hermione placed a hand on his arm that he didn't realize he'd raised. "You'll be expelled."
He met her eyes and his hands fell to his side and he sighed heavily.
After a brief moment, she muttered, "But I won't."
And with that, Cho stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, the sting of Hermione's palm fresh on her face. Surprisingly, only a few people stopped to pay attention to the altercation.
"Let's go, Harry," his friend said, turning and starting off.
Pulling his wand from his pocket, he breathed, "Accio necklace," and the butterbeer cap and chain drifted into his hand.
